William Santana

Sorry if this is an absurd question but I couldn't find any info on it anywhere. I currently have the AA mount on my Pilot but plan on flying the Blackmagic in projects in the near future. Right now, the company I'm working for has Anton Bauer Gold batteries which are very heavy. Would the Pilot be able to use those? If not, what model of Anton Bauer battery does it use?

Thanks. I was sinking into the beach thinking, "Where is my chicken wire?"

I'd have sent the crew to get some but then I was the crew.

Bizarrely despite coming second in our region when they played the 30 "best of" on TV we were left out.

Instead they played 3 of the films we beat.

Nothing personal aparantly.

I guess the fact the team was mostly all over 40 makes us not cool enough for the competition.

I think your cast/crew did splendid! If I drew musical I'd go into a coma! But you managed to pull it off extremely well. Denying your entry an opportunity to be televised was a *expletive deleted* move on the people in charge's part, they should be ashamed.

I've just got myself a Pilot, i've modded the vest so it has buckles

A pilot vest with buckles? You sir have been reading my diary! How did you go about getting that done?

William,

 

If the idea is to make the rig fly more like a big rig, then by all means experiment with increasing the diameter of the gimbal grip. Just add inertial weights fore and aft to make the rig fly like a much bigger rig. This is one of the most brilliant facets of the Pilot design: by adding light weights far from the center post you create the intertial affect of much more weight/mass.

 

The flip side of the "physics" argument against a larger grip is that, when operating a smaller diameter grip, you have to use a fingertip technique, which you will have to unlearn when going to a bigger rig.

 

Also, since you're using a different set of muscles operating a small grip (mostly fingers) versus a larger grip (mostly wrist), the argument about leverage is somewhat moot in my opinion...it's an apples to oranges comparison, since the muscle groups assert force differently.

 

I would encourage you to experiement with inexpensive PVC pipe split down the middle and taped to the post with gaff tape. If you like the feel, then make or buy something more elegant and permanent.

I see... Well, I'm going to take you're advice to try out the PVC pipe and see how that feels. If it turns out to have adverse effects on my handling then I'll be content with the stock post diameter. To be honest, the priority was the really thin gimbal handle. I gotta make that thing thicker!

Sorry Rob I suppose the thread title was a bit misleading; when I said I wanted to "beef up" the Pilot I was referring to making the gimbal handle thicker and placing a wrapgrip under the gimbal. I'm happy to hear a pro speaking highly of the Pilot. In a sea of super rigs I was starting to feel... inadequate. :) I'm still a greenhorn so I guess I should continue to train and become more accustom to my rig before I decide to make any modifications.

Thanks for the advice everyone, I really appreciate it. I guess my logic was backwards when it came to adding a wrapgrip. I figured a thicker grip would improve the stability of the rig by dampening my influence on the post... it seems my hypothesis was wrong. But what about increasing the the thickness of the gimbal handle?

Excellent! I'd want something exactly like what you have on your gimbal handle; I'd need it to be much thicker though, about three times as thick. What company was it? I think I could use a "sample" of their work as well. :lol:

As for the wrapgrip... Yes it seems like there is no quick way out of it, I am definitely going to have to consult a engineer. That one's going to be the headache I carry over to 2010.

I recently attended a Steadicam workshop with Charles Papert and we got to talking about how to improve the Pilot's stability to better emulate the feel of a bigger rig in terms of handling. We came to the conclusion that adding a foam grip over the extremely thin gimbal handle and a thinker wrapgrip under the gimbal (much like the Flyer) would improve the overall feel. I was wondering if anyone with more experience with modifying rigs could help me find the materials necessary to achieve this and offer advice in properly going about making this a reality.

ACF-50: http://www.skygeek.com/10013.html

Also very similar and my preferred lube for most things, Corrosion-X: http://www.corrosionx.com/

Both are thin film aviation lubricants and I believe both are available in both an aerosol or a pump spray bottle. They differ from conventional lubricants in that they create a very thin non sticky layer on the metal that does an amazing job at fighting corrosion. They also lubricate and don't seem to attract contaminants quite as much as stickier lubes.

 

WD-40 and most simple hardware store lubricants should be avoided for most steadicam related uses.

 

When it comes to silicon oils, teflon lube and white greese it is possible to find a wide range of products with these description on the container. It would be nice to get some more specific recommendations.

 

~Jess

Agreed, I ran searches for silicon oil and get a variety of options; I don't know which one will be safe for the Steadicam.

Sorry, I wasn't quite sure which forum to put my question in. Thanks for the lead though.

I've been so caught up with learning how to use my Pilot that I've completely overlooked how I'll be capturing usable audio. I've done light research on wireless transmitters but I admittingly have zero idea in what to look for. So does anyone have any suggestions and tips?

Alright I'll get my hands on some silicon oil. Any suggestions on brands or where to get it?

So he didn't even bother to see what you're capable of? You'd think a professor would be the first to realize that age is an antiquated way of judging ones wisdom, intelligence, skill...anything! Don't take it too hard, the important thing is that you've become confident enough to take you're training to the next level. Working with other people will undoubtedly jettison the rate in which you improve. I envy your enthusiasm.

Purchasing your own rig would benefit you; Clippers and Archers go from $24,000 to $35,000. If you could afford that then... whoa. On the other hand a Pilot is a great rig that can produce shots on par with bigger rigs and goes for only about $4,000; the weight limit on it is 10 lbs though which would alienate film cameras like the CP16, but I suppose you could always rent a bigger rig in that case.

After additional testing I've narrowed down the problem area to the double action hinge. It creaks when it moves during horizontal movement.

I've had the Pilot for a few months now but have only gotten around to flying it three times at the most; Usually outside with a lot of noise. It wasn't until today during the exercise on page 54 of the Operator's Handbook that I notice that the arms are creaking rather loudly when I am booming up and down. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this issue and what steps have they taken to remedy it. I'm a long way from using this in an actual production (Hopefully the Steadicam Workshop I'll be attending this December 11th-12th will kick my enthusiasm and proficiency into high gear compliments of Mr. Papert's tutelage.) but I would like to resolve this pesky issue preferably before the workshop so I could continue my training without delay.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

The image also appears to be horizontally inverted for some reason. (i.e. backward letters)

Thanks Brian, I was able to get an image. However the image I'm getting is unusably bad. It can be compared to a watching scrambled cable television. Has this occurred to anyone else?

Hello, I have recently become proud owner of a Sony EX1 and Steadicam Pilot AA (which I have just successfully achieved static balance on my stand for the first time). But I seem to have hit a snag...

I cannot seem to relay an image to the LCD. I try using the SDI Out port with a BNC to RCA adapter and only manage to get faint static. I tried using the A/V cables that came with the EX1 but do not get an image. I was hoping someone could shine some light on this predicament of mine.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

Thanks Danny, that pretty much answered my question!

I just got my Steadicam Pilot AA in the mail and I am extremely excited to start practicing. However before I begin I need to sort myself out with a power solution. My model is powered by AA batteries and it seems that my local electronic stores do not carry the 10 AA Battery Holder my Pilot LCD needs to function. I browsed the internet and found a few places that sell the battery holder I need but the site says that they have "soldered lug connections"... do those work for the with the Pilot AA? If not then would someone send me a link to a good online site where I can buy some AA Battery Holders, good quality AA rechargeable batteries and a 10 AA battery charger?

I appreciate any information I receive, thanks.

P.S. Happy to be here!